Geneva to get new animal control contract with county

GENEVA – Aldermen have recommended approving a resolution for a new animal control agreement with Kane County Animal Control.

Geneva has had the agreement since 2008, and it expires June 30.

Aldermen acting as the Committee of the Whole on Monday recommended approval of the agreement, with final action to be taken by the City Council.

Fees in the new contract are lower, officials said, such as a $25 fee for pickup per animal, $10 a day for boarding at minimum, rabies observation cost of $150 for animals under 30 pounds or $175 for animals more than 30 pounds, among other fees.

Earlier charges were $100 for picking up a stray or injured animal, including euthanasia for injured wildlife, according to the fee schedule.

But municipalities will pay pickup and boarding costs for animals involved in evictions, according to the fee schedule.

The city budgeted $600 for the cost of transporting animals to Kane County.

Police Cmdr. Julie Nash said for the past three years, residents have called in when they find a stray and police come to pick it up.

“Here is my moment to brag about the police department,” Nash said. “We actually have developed protocols to try to offset cost because originally, the cost was $200 per dog. Anytime a dog [was] taken to Kane County, it was $200. So we had to come up with a way to save money because $200 per dog is a lot of money.”

Officers scan the dog to see if it has a microchip, she said, and if not, call to see if the dog was reported missing.

“And then we wait until the next business day before we take the dog,” Nash said. “Officers are stuck basically walking the dog on the midnight shift.”

“Somehow, someone should be able to recover what those actual costs are,” 3rd Ward Alderman Dean Kilburg said.

Any dog that spends the night at the police department and is claimed, the owner receives a ticket for allowing the dog to run at large, Nash said.

“It’s not about generating revenue but returning the dog to his happy home,” Nash said.

The agreement with Kane County originally was negotiated by the Metro West Council of Governments on behalf of municipalities in the county, including Geneva, officials said.

The new intergovernmental agreement is for one year with the possibility of extending two more one-year extensions, officials said.